Should I buy Season Passes?

Hi! I hope I've come to the right place for advice!
We are planning a trip next summer to Kings Island and Cedar Point. We surprised my 2 boys (ages 7 & 10) with a trip to CP over this past Labor Day weekend and they are counting the days til we go back!
I'm considering buying the Platinum Season Passes for our trip. There are 5 of us (3 adults, 2 kids). We'll be spending 2 days at KI and then 3 at CP. Still haven't booked hotels, but will likely stay at Hotel Breakers or Lighthouse Point at CP.
Do the Season Passes jump up significantly in price after Nov 1? I can't decide if I should hold off and buy individual park tix, or just get it all at once and buy the Platinum passes so that both parks will be covered and that we'll have free parking at KI (we'll already be parked and have early entry at CP). I'm also thinking that if we get to our hotels early enough on the days we arrive, we'll be able to wander over to the parks without buying additional tix.
There is also a possibility we could return to CP later in the summer (we're in Pittsburgh, so a quick trip is easy), but that's not a definite.
Help! Based on pricing, does anyone recommend for or against passes? When we went in August I paid $87 for each person for a 2 day ride & slides (we never went to Soak City though). With 5 days definitely being spent between the two parks, is a Platinum Pass worth it? I wish the parks would list their 2015 pricing now so it'd be easier for me to decide!
Thank you for any advice! :D

with a platinum pass,you'll also be able to do Dorney in Allentown. Just a little farther than your Pittsburg to Sandusky trip. AND with the Platinum,you might end up doing CP more than you planned.

I second that.

I would go with passes. The price usually does go up after the park has closed, so now would be the best time to purchase. You could always do the monthly payment deal for them. It's interest free, so it makes sense just to do it.

Do not underestimate that Platinum passes get parking for free at all parks. If you're waffling, you might consider just getting 1 platinum pass for you and playing the rest by ear. That way you get all the free parking, the discounts, etc.

Just to toss an idea out to you.... every year we do buy our passes in Oct for the following year. It is normally cheaper in Oct than waiting til spring.

Something we always do, we have always used them as Christmas gifts. Using the same Snoopy-Christmas-CP envelopes that the park used to give out, we put passes/voucher in same envelopes and tuck them in the tree to be used as gifts for the holiday.
Quite frankly if you pay $117 or $180 per pass, that makes quite a gift that we know will be used.

And I figure as a Mom, I get double-duty out of them.
1) Makes a great Christmas gift ....kids+ grown ups are ALWAYS HAPPY!
2) I know that the majority of my summer will be relatively paid for and we can go anytime we want.

Love the Christmas gift idea, we do that too with museum passes. I use the same box every year.

Another thing to consider is that you could use them on the day you are leaving the park- for at least the early ride time. This summer we did that and went to CP for a few hours on Sunday before heading home.
If you want to travel south you could go to Kings Dominion in Virginia, or Carowinds on the North/South Carolina border (new coaster going in there!) Or Wildwater Kingdom for a day trip.
With passes you could look into scheduling a trip around Exclusive ride nights- that was so much fun last year!

But on the other hand, only getting one platinum pass would give you parking, discounts and bring a buddy offers when they have them. If you stay at a CP hotel you would get in for early entry anyhow.

Thank you for all of the replies!
As far as Christmas goes, my boys already know we're going to CP on vacation. We actually took them for a surprise visit at the end of August~ we got in the car and drove, and they had no idea where we were going, until we got there. Then they thought we were just going for a really long ride in the rental car we had because my van supposedly broke down. We got there around 9pm, drove through the lot and they saw all the lights, and they thought we were going back home. Very innocent clueless kids, lol. When we parked at the hotel, they finally figured it out.
They get season passes for Kennywood Park for Christmas every year from my mom-in-law. If we lived closer to CP, they'd love to be able to go 20+ times like they do Kennywood!

I have one more concern that I just thought of. I am leaning toward getting the Platinum passes, just because, if nothing else, we'll about break even and then anything else is bonus.
Our trip is being planned as the first half at Kings Island and the second half at Cedar Point. Is that even possible? Kings Island also has the Platinum passes for the same price. Should I be buying them from there instead? The benefits all look to be the same, but are they evenly interchangeable at both parks? If I buy them from CP, is it possible to have them processed at KI since we're going there first? Or do I have to get them for KI and then also use them at CP since that's the second part of our trip. We have it planned that way because KI is further from home~ we'll drive there the first day (5ish hours), then up to CP later in the week, then home at the end (only about 3 hrs). I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner. I already booked our cabin at Lighthouse Point so I'm not able to switch the dates. KI works better first for us anyway. Ugh. :P
Thanks everyone! It's still 234 days away but I'm a planner! ;)

Based on current pricing it would cost you $75 for 2 days at CP (resort discount tickets) + $39 for 3rd day at CP for a total of $114 per adult.

The Adult Platinum Pass currently is $184.50. So if the price of a 2-day ticket at KI is greater than the difference ($70.50) then the platinum passes would be the cheapest route. Not to mention you'll save on your hotel at CP, games will be cheaper for the kiddos, you'll get discounts on food at the parks, and so on.

A Cedar Fair Platinum Pass purchased from any Cedar Fair park is equally valid for all perks, not just admission and parking, at all outdoor Cedar Fair water and ride parks. Additionally, all parks have the same pricing.

Some parks do offer different perks for new passes (one free visit) and renewals (Fast Lane Plus - limited parks).

Otherwise, it comes down to where it will be most convenient to you to process the passes. Generally that'd be somewhere you visit this fall or the first you visit in 2015. If you're going to KI first, you'd be better off just getting the pass from KI.

Note that prices are scheduled to go up after November 2nd, so if feasible, you may want to purchase the vouchers now and redeem them later.

jsmith7300 said:
...the platinum passes would be the cheapest route. Not to mention you'll save on your hotel at CP, games will be cheaper for the kiddos, you'll get discounts on food at the parks, and so on.

Also true with one, single platinum pass.

I think if you do the math, you'll find out that you may not break even if you get everyone a pass. It's overly-conservative to assume you'll pay full price for a day visit, as discounts are always abound. You likely won't break even unless you visit 5 times.

Now, if you look toward multi-day visits (like get there Friday evening, stay Sat, maybe even stay early part of Sunday), then platinum for all is most certainly the way to go.

I was told, by Cedar Fair that you can process(get) you pass voucher anywhere. But the park you do that at is now considered your 'home' park. That's where you need to go if a pass needs replaced-for any reason. Again, quoted to me, by a company employee. So keep that in mind also.

ScottyF, we'll be in parks for 5 full days (two at KI, three at CP). Possibility of one partial day at each (KI the day we arrive at our hotel, CP the day we check out). So likely entering the parks a total of 7 times, even though two won't be full days. We'll be parked at Lighthouse Point so we won't have to pay $15 each day, but we'd have to pay that at KI 2 or 3 times.
I have a feeling I'm really overthinking this. I'm just afraid that if I wait, I'll wish I'd gotten them. ;)

Thanks for the info on the home park, Janeen. That makes sense!

You're welcome! If everybody in your group won't always be traveling to the parks together, all the time, that's another consideration too. It was a great investment for my party of two getting platinum passes. The cost was covered by our second visit(discounts/perks that we used).But regardless of your choice-go have FUN !!!

Janeen, how'd the costs get covered by your second visit with _both_ of you getting passes? Is yours a similar situation where you're visiting many days each trip?

Visiting say 5 days, comes out to be about $37 a ticket before you break even vs. a platinum pass. $37 is quite doable with bring a friend dates and the multiple discounts thereabouts throughout the year.

Genuinely interested in the math here, because we decided to do one pass for 2015.

Janeen, for the heck of it I ended up contacting CP about my concern about whether or not processing a pass at one park vs another would effect anything. I didn't expect to hear back so quickly. I know this is what you said~ just thought I'd let you (and anyone else know incase they read this in the future) what they said. I do feel better knowing for sure. We won't be renewing~ if we were to go back in 2016 it wouldn't be often enough to make it worthwhile because we are already planning on hitting Six Flags Great Adventure in '16. Anyway, here is there response: (Thanks again!)

Hi Heather,
Thank you for your interest in Cedar Point.
Platinum pass vouchers can be processed at any of the Cedar Fair parks. The benefits are not affected in any way. In fact the only problem you may encounter is if you would decide to renew your pass for the next season you would have to renew it from the park that it was processed at.
Sincerely
CP Information -cb

Scotty,

That is true that you can still get all the benefits with one pass. At some point it becomes a matter of convenience though. If the group splits, and say one half wants to play games while the other is shopping for merchandise or grabbing a snack, then each person having their own pass makes things a lot easier especially if they end up at opposite sides of the park and want to use perks at the same time. Granted, with one pass you can avoid situations like that with some careful planning but having multiple passes does have some advantages that might be worth considering.

For us, the idea of being able to go into a park on our day of arrival or departure for even an hour or so without having to buy a separate ticket is a huge bonus. Everyone's situation is a little different though.

How pass holders(or potential) get their savings(or do the math), is up to them. And the same applies to how they benefit from discounts.

Exactly, you put out your situation, which is why I asked you about how you're doing it. There's always something to learn from other people's techniques.

Thanks-I think!? LOL...I just felt my passes have served me(us) very well. Maybe a bit over 2 visits, I'll give you that. My 'guestamation' was from what I felt I saved in terms of what I wanted to do(extra), eat, drink & misc. purchases. 10% off most purchases add up. That's my biggest tip right there-show your pass(platinum) every time you spend $. With all the fun , I think some guests forget to use it.